LONDON, July 12, 2010 - Olympic legend and Laureus World Sports Academy member Michael Johnson believes the best could be yet to come from British Formula One pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button following the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last weekend.
Hamilton leads defending champion Button in the Formula One Drivers' Championship by 12 points, having won the title himself in 2008.
Johnson, who won five Olympic and nine World Championship gold medals, dominating in the 200m and 400m events, was at Silverstone to watch the Grand Prix on Sunday as a guest of the Mercedes Formula One team.
Johnson said: "Lewis and Jenson have both won Laureus World Sports Awards in recent years and their respectful rivalry has been a great advert for sport.
"The fact that neither of them has let up in their pursuit of the title, even overtaking each other a few weeks ago when they had the race apparently sewn up, says it all about their competitiveness.
"I am convinced that while they are already great drivers, the fact that they are both British and team-mates will push them to even greater levels of excellence."
Michael Johnson, from the United States, is indisputably one of the greatest and most distinctive sprinters in the history of track and field. Johnson is widely regarded as the greatest 400 metres runner of all time. Five times an Olympic champion, he piled up a career total of nine World Championship gold medals by the time he retired from competition after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Laureus Sport for Good Foundation was founded 10 years ago and now supports 78 projects in 32 countries. Laureus has seen first-hand the positive effect that sport has in tackling some of the world's most challenging social issues from mental health, HIV/Aids, and substance abuse to crime, social exclusion, and violence.
Laureus is a universal movement that celebrates the power of sport to bring people together as a force for good. Laureus is composed of three core elements - the Laureus World Sports Academy, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Laureus World Sports Awards - which collectively celebrate sporting excellence and harness the power of sport to promote social change.
Johnson is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, a unique association of 46 of the greatest living sporting legends. The Academy members volunteer their time to act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation by using their influence to highlight the plight of disadvantaged children and supporting humanitarian projects around the world.
The mission of the Laureus Foundation is to utilise the power of sport to address social challenges through a global programme of sports-related community development initiatives. Currently there are 78 projects around the world supported by Laureus. Since its inception Laureus has raised over €35 million for sports-based projects which have helped to improve the lives of more than one million young people.
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